Catastrophic events are something many homeowners have to deal with.  Whether it is damage caused by a fire, hurricane, tornado, flooding or something else being prepared is the first step to recovery.  Building back your life, after a tragedy happens, can be made much easier if you have the right things in place.  Let's take a look at what the Town of Hilton Head Island is doing and some things you will need to get your home back as soon as possible.

Should you experience a disaster to your home, the Town of Hilton Head believes being prepared to build back and reestablish the community as soon as possible is of the utmost importance.  To help homeowners do this they have established the disaster recovery procedure so the preapproval process of plans and documents for residential structures are in place.  This allows the process of building back to be much more efficient.  These are required documents that expedite the rebuilding of damaged structures due to disasters such as fire, hurricane, flooding, etc.

The disaster recovery program started for two reasons 1) to reduce the number of approval requests after a disaster and 2) to help owners quickly begin the recovery process.  Disaster recovery documentation means your home will be top priority.  The recovery process will be faster, with less red tape and down time.  In addition, you will have first access to contractors who want to get to work quickly.

When a disaster strikes your home, where the things you value are kept, it is  important for you to be able to verify the state of your home or business prior
to the event.  If your home is properly documented and registered, rebuilding can occur more quickly.  If you do not have things in place you will have to search for your documents and if they were destroyed you will be required to replace them.  If this happens, you will be waiting in long lines at overburdened town offices trying to obtain the permits necessary to get your life back to normal.

Some key items to have registered for your disaster recovery documentation would be:

• As-built / site plan
• Building plans
• Deed and recorded plat, if available
• Exterior photos showing construction and finishes
• Contents photos*
• Mortgage information, tax records, insurance papers*

* You will be asked to provide an inventory of lost or damaged items.  This kind of detailed record is invaluable for insurance claims.

What should you do to get started?
A surveying company can help you with all the aforementioned items.  Once taken your data is scanned, registered with the Town of Hilton Head and then digitally stored on a CD or memory stick for your records.  Duplicate sets are then stored at the offices of the surveying company and on a secure offsite server.

These are but some of the things that will help you get your life back to normal should you experience a disaster.  If you would like more information or have questions about real estate on Hilton Head Island or in Bluffton, SC, contact PNP Real Estate.

Due to the number of devastating hurricanes that have hit our coasts in the past few years, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) will no longer be subsidizing flood insurance.  What does this mean for homeowners around the country?  It means, flood insurance rates and how those rates are determined will be going up.

This is not just a coastal change either.  This applies to anyone and everyone that carries flood insurance; i.e. those that live near lakes, rivers and streams are just as susceptible to flooding as those along the coast.

As it pertains to Beaufort County, South Carolina there are different categories a property may fall into based off when it was built.  These categories would be as follows:

FIRM - Flood Insurance Rate  Map
Prior to 1977 in Beaufort County the use of flood maps was virtually non-existent.  As a result, homes built at this time were not required to meet the criteria they do today.  From 1978-1984 is when flood maps started being utilized.  This put any home being built into a different category for insurance.  When the Town of Hilton Head incorporated in 1984 the maps were redrawn and have remained so until now.  As this is being written the new maps are being configured and should be out in the near future.  To gain a better understanding of each time period and how the property will be effected please see below:

PRE-FIRM

• Refers to homes built before 9/30/77
• Not built to required codes
• Effective 1/1/13 these homes will now be rated on their actual risk
• Insurance premiums will increase up to 25%/yr. until they meet the actual risk
• If the property is sold the new owners flood insurance will be paid on actual risk and the premium increase of 25%/yr. will no longer be in effect.

NOTE:  Hilton Head Island was incorporated as a town on 9/12/84.  If you are getting a flood insurance quote on a home that was built 1977-1984 it should be for a POST FIRM.

POST FIRM

• Built after 1977
• Rates May change in 2014 due to FIRM revisions
• If rates change they will go up 20%/yr. for 5 years
• If property is sold the new owner will pay the actual risk
• There will be an elimination of all grandfathering of properties

Reserve Fund
Everyone that has flood insurance will be required to pay a 5% premium for an emergency fund.  This will become effective 10/1/13 and is set in place for any shortfalls that may occur within the flood insurance programs offered.

For more information on flood insurance and how it could effect your current property or the purchase/sale of a property in Bluffton or Hilton Head Island call PNP Real Estate or your local insurance agent.